200 mn in US to use smartphones or tablets by 2015: forecast

"This market trend will have a huge impact on how video entertainment is acquired and consumed," the firm predicted in its forecast.

Technology titans such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft have been staking out territory in a "post-PC" world marked by people tapping into the Internet frommobile gadgets instead of desktop computers

Facebook answers privacy flap over leftover cookies

Facebook “alters” tracking cookies when you log out instead of deleting them.

Cubrilovic’s findings were from his analysis of HTTP headers sent by browsers to Facebook.com. The solution, he said, is to delete every Facebook cookie in your browser, or to use a separate browser for Facebook interactions.

The story quickly propagated as did news of Facebook employee responses that Facebook’s millions of users should not be bothered.

Facebook did not deny that cookies remain even after the user has logged out. What Facebook did seek to correct was any notion that leftover cookies were used to snoop.

Facebook engineer Arturo Bejar said that Facebook uses data from logged-out cookies to prevent spamming, phishing and other security risks.

An extended Facebook response with similar assurances came from Gregg Stefanci, a Facebook engineer. Stefani defended Facebook's intentions as user-centric, and not for profiteering by snooping.

"We don’t have an ad network and we don’t sell people’s information.” Stefanci said. "Rather, the logged-out cookies are used for safety and security protections."

One example of user protection, he said, was disabling registration if an underage user tries to re-register with a different birth date. Another purpose was helping people recover hacked accounts, and identifying shared computers to discourage the use of 'Keep me logged in.'

While Facebook staffers’ reactions defending Facebook have been quite clear, a stinging sentence on Cubrilovic's Sunday blog is feeding news posting after news posting: “This is not what 'logout' is supposed to mean.”

The cookies flap comes at a time when privacy watchdogs are worried about Facebook's new Timeline feature and are preparing a letter to the Federal Trade Commission to look into the sharing of information via Timeline. The ElectronicPrivacy Information Center is especially concerned over Timeline, a new design for a profile page. Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy believes that the redesign is part of an effort to boost data collection prior to an IPO.

McAfee adds protection for mobile gadgets

McAfee billed AllAccess as an unprecedented offering for coordinated protection of desktop, laptop and netbook computers along with smartphones or tablets powered by Android, Symbian, or Blackberry operating systems.

"Most consumer households now own a combination of PCs, Macs, and mobile devices, but haven't kept up-to-date by adequately protecting all of them," said McAfee co-president Todd Gebhart.

AllAccess lets users manage security, limit Internet surfing, and back up data on devices from a central console.

It is priced at $99 for one person and $149 for a household version.

McAfee announced the new service along with the results of a global study that found people placed an average value of $37,438 on their total "digital assets," including pictures and music collections.